


Since We Met

by i_write_shakespeare_not_disney



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Anxiety, Cheating, Childhood, Consensual Underage Sex, Depression, Drug Use, F/M, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Physical Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Teen Angst, Teen Romance, Trauma, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-03-30
Packaged: 2019-03-16 05:42:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13629849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_write_shakespeare_not_disney/pseuds/i_write_shakespeare_not_disney
Summary: This is a coming of age story.Following two boys from their childhood years to high school, this is a story of trauma, heartbreak, falling down and getting back up, falling in love over and over, dealing with loss, and dealing with the harsh reality as it unfolds a little more the older you get. Life is complicated, and parents try their best, but in the end- you have to fuck up to learn and grow.





	1. Wonder Boy

**Author's Note:**

> Back and renewed from Wattpad to AO3!
> 
> After many... MANY messages asking me to reupload this story, I'm finally doing it!! I'm thinking I'll upload every Friday since so much is pre-written. This story will be changed and edited from that of Wattpad if that's where you first read it. 
> 
> For this fic, I made Nico's birthday Oct. 28, and Bianca's Nov. 2
> 
> I also decided to make Nico Hispanic since, upon rereading, I felt like I wasn't capturing Italian language or culture properly. There are going to be a lot of "controversial" themes throughout this story because it's supposed to reflect reality, not simple happy-go-lucky crap. 
> 
> Also, each chapter is named after a song that relates to the events of the chapter if you want to make a playlist- I will also attempt providing one!

_song by  The Kinks_

 

_August 10, 2002 (Nico)_

 

Just the night before everything had been okay. They’d eaten dinner and watched TV. They’d laughed and Mama and Papa joked and kissed in the way that made Nico and Bianca squeal and throw pillows at them. They’d played catch around the house. Nico felt happy. He couldn’t stop laughing.

But now?

Bianca's arms wrapped around little Nico protectively. Once again they were hiding in the closet. It was their sanctuary anytime this happened. And this happened often.

The small four-year old struggled to look up at his older sister. "Yanka, why do Mama and Papa always fight?" He looked at her with large brown eyes. She ran a hand through his hair and gave him a reassuring smile. For Nico, it was all the reassurance he needed.

She looked at him and said, "It's okay Nicky, they'll stop. They always do. They love each other. We'll be okay."

Nico simply nodded and scooted closer to his sister's warm body. She was six, and that meant she knew what she was saying. Bianca was always right.

He put her arms against his ears to try and block out the noise while she played with his hair. He squeezed his eyes tightly. Mama and Yanka always said darkness meant nothing. If Nico saw darkness, there would be nothing. There would be no Mama and Papa fighting, no closet, and no fear. There would be nothing. He wouldn’t cry. Papa would be proud of him.

There was the sound of something shattering, and Nico shut his eyes tighter and gripped Bianca’s arm, a small whimper betraying him.

"Enough, Maria! You're blowing this out of proportion! I can't just leave them." That was Papa yelling. His voice was smooth and deep, booming and scary when he yelled. "We can't move; the kids have to go to school. We can get through this,  _tesoro."_ Papa's voice had turned kinder, pleading.

"There are schools in Briarwood, Alonso. I will _not_ stay here, with her flaunting around! I don’t need you to come with me, I'll take the kids and go!" Mama was crying. " _Eres un bueno para nada, maldito-_ ," Her words were cut off and Nico heard sobbing that made him feel like throwing up.

"No! Enough! P-Please. Okay. We'll move. We'll go to Briarwood, and enroll the kids, and get a house, and start over. We'll start over, okay?"

There was whispering and movement. Nico opened his eyes and saw shadows under the door. His heart sped up, though he was unsure why. A small knock made Bianca hold him a little tighter. The door opened, and Nico squinted up to see his Mama's petite figure at the doorframe.

She kneeled and gently removed Bianca's arms from around Nico's ears. " _Ven_ ,  _mi_ _pequeños,"_ she whispered.

Nico and Bianca scrambled to stand and immediately locked hands. Their papa appeared next to their mama with a somber expression.

Though they'd been arguing no more than two minutes ago, Nico could only think about how lucky he was. He had two parents who looked perfect together. And even though they argued, they were always together. Nico never feared that they'd split up. He only feared the loud noises and shouts. It only made him sad that they didn't stop screaming even when Nico and Biance ran away crying. But he never feared a divorce or separation of any kind. It was impossible. They were meant to be. He liked seeing his parents together. They were in real true love.

Mama had olive skin, angular, kind, and dark eyes that sparkled, and her nose was elegantly angular. She had full lips and naturally rosy cheeks. Her face was lightly sprinkled with freckles. Her hair fell in dark heavy, fluffy waves halfway down her back. She was a small woman. Her limbs were slender, and she was always gentle. Nico loved her voice. It had a soothing rasp when she sung.

Papa was lighter skinned. He had dark hair that fell to his shoulder and birdlike dark eyes. His nose was hooked, and his smile was thin with perfect teeth. He was tall and had long, lanky, but strong limbs. always squared his shoulders and dressed in fancy suits. His voice was smooth as velvet and his features were sharp. He was loving toward his children, but not with the gentleness of their mother.

Nico could see the sadness in Papa's eyes. He put a hand on his son’s shoulder and Nico stared up, unblinking. "Are you alright?" Nico nodded. "You weren't crying." Nico shook his head, though it was a statement. "That's my boy." Nico smiled. He enjoyed when his father praised him. It made him feel special and strong. "Come Bianca.” He extended a hand to her. She let herself get scooped into his arms. Maria placed an arm on her shoulder. "Would you two like to go somewhere new?"

Nico and Bianca looked at each other. Bianca looked up. "Where?"

"A new home. A new neighborhood. There'll be more things to see and do. It will be fun," Maria said, putting a high pitch to her words.

Nico tugged Papa's hand. "But we're little kids. Why are you asking us? You always say we have to go where you go because we're supposed to listen,” he mumbled.

"Remember to open your mouth properly when you talk, Nico. And yes, you're right." He looked at Maria. "Should we start packing?"

Mama looked at her children. "Tomorrow morning," she said. "I want to have a movie night with the kids."

She took their hands and led them to the T.V room where they watched movies until they fell asleep. Nico could tell Mama was pretending to laugh, but he thought that was brave and didn't want to make her feel bad by telling her he knew. So he pretended to believe it and sat in her lap as she sat Indian-style.

Nico woke up to Papa shaking him awake. He looked around and saw that Mama and Bianca were gone. It made him frown. He didn't like being left alone when he slept.

"Time to get up, Nico; it's almost noon."

Nico rubbed his eyes. "Do we go away today, Papa?" he asked.

"Not quite. Today we put things in boxes. Can you help your sister put your toys in a box?" Nico nodded and got up groggily. "And Nico," Papa said. "I'm proud of you for not crying."

Nico smiled. "You told me not to. And when I cry, Yanka cries. Boys don't cry." Papa smiled at him. "I love you, Papa."

"I love you too, Nico. That's why we have to go. Go on, help your sister."

Nico trotted off, letting his hands bump along the stairway rails. He didn't see why going to live in another place meant that Papa loved him, but he knew not to question him too much. He was a kid, and Papa was an adult. Papa knew best.

Nico went into the room where all the toys were and saw Bianca sitting on her heels as she tried to get all the pieces of Jenga in the container. Nico and Bianca were as alike as they were different.

Bianca had long wavy hair like her mom, and a light olive tone. Her face was splashed with freckles and her eyes were wide and easily defined as light brown. She was outgoing and easily liked by people who met her. She had a button nose and a sweet voice. She'd inherited her mother's shortness but was still taller than Nico. Her eyelashes were long and slanted downward.

Nico had a short spikey mess of hair at the moment as his mom didn't like to see it too long and hadn't had the time to cut it. His eyes were a dark brown and he had only a few indistinguishable freckles along his nose. He was a lighter olive tone than Bianca, but not albino like his father. He was shy and often stayed quiet around new people or family he rarely saw. He usually clung to Bianca or his Mama. His eyelashes were long and curled upwards.

"I thought you had to make the tower then put the box on it," Nico said. "That's what Mama does. Then she flips it over."

Bianca sighed and huffed. "You do it. It's stupid and I give up." Nico sat down and started building the tower. "Are you going to throw away any of these?" Bianca held up Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles masks and main weapons.

"No!" Nico said jumping up and toppling over the tower. "No! Those are my favorite!"

Bianca threw them into a box that had "TOYS" written in thick marker. Nico walked over and positioned them carefully so the plastic wouldn't break as more toys were put in.

He turned and saw Bianca flipping through a book that had several cards in plastic sheets. "I forgot I had this. I don't even know how to play."

"What's that?" Nico asked waddling over. He looked over her shoulder. There were colorful cards with monsters and half animals and glowing people.

"It's a game Papa gave me. I didn't play it a lot. Remember?" Nico shook his head. "I think you were two. Papa said I had to wait to play so I wouldn't mess up the cards, but he wanted me to take care of it."

"For your birthday or for Christmas? Was I still in Mama's tummy?"

"No, you were two, I said that. I think it was Christmas." She dug around and pulled out a bag. "And here're the statues." She dumped it out and four different statues in different poses were exposed. They resembled the glowing people on the cards.

"What does this say, Yanka?"

Bianca looked at the card he pointed at. "I don't know. I still can't read."

"But you were already in kindergarten!" Nico whined.

"So? I still can't read big words."

"Then you're dumb," Nico scoffed. Bianca hit him on the head. "Ow!"

"Don't call me dumb! You don't even know the vowels."

"Yuh-huh! I know A and E and O." Nico stuck his tongue out at her.

"There's more. See you're dumber." Bianca looked at the cards. "Papa never asked me for them again. I don't know what to do with them.”

"I want them," Nico said. "And the statues too."

"Well, if you take care of them like your turtle masks, okay."

Nico hugged the binder and stuffed the statues in a box. He walked out of the room, anxious to mess with his new stuff. As he walked down the hallway, he bumped into Mama. "Mama, can you read these to me?"

"What is- oh. Where'd you find this?" Nico pointed to the room he'd just been in. "Well. This was your father's. I don't know how to play."

"That's okay, just read it."

Nico looked up with his large eyes and Mama smiled. "Okay, come on. But you have to help your sister put away toys." She took his hand and led him back to the room. "Go on start cleaning, and I'll read."

Nico started putting the tower together again and listened as his Mama started reading the words on the cards.

"It's a game called Mythomagic. With the gods of Olympus and its creatures and every monster that inhabits the depths of Tartarus." She stopped. "Nico, I don't know if I should let you play this."

"Mama!" Nico whined. "But it looks cool!"

Mama sighed. "Alright. The gods. Zeus; the king of Olympus. God of lighting and the skies. Weapon; Master Bolt. Poseidon, God of earthquakes and horses, of the seas and storms. Brother of Zeus. Weapon; trident. Hades, god of the dead and wealth. The lord of the Underworld. The only god without a place on Mount Olympus. Brother of Zeus and Poseidon. Weapons; helm of darkness, sword of Hades, Hades's staff. Wow."

"And with a level seven attack and level ten defense. Best god ever," someone said. Nico looked to see Papa standing at the door. "Who are you reading it to?"

"Nico. He took it from Bianca and became interested. Do you remember how to play?"

"Of course. I'll teach him." Alonso smiled at his son and Nico beamed back.

In the days that followed, Alonso got a coworker to rent him a house in Briarwood. And another to lend his trailer to move the things and furniture. Nico also spent time learning how to play his new cards with Papa and learning how to read them on his own from Mama. He was a fast learner. He spent hours spreading his cards on the floor while movers loaded the truck, and going over them, memorizing the names.

He found that in statues, he had Aphrodite, Poseidon, Hermes, and Dionysus. He was determined to find them all and complete his set. He liked to set his cards in different patterns such as color, or relativity, or coolest, or power, or even alphabetical order. Thanks to this game, he'd learned common sounds and letters, and was even somewhat excited to start kindergarten in this new place.

Then came the day they were going to move. It was a two hour drive, and that was if they left early enough to avoid traffic. Nico sat in a booster seat in the back by the window and Bianca sat in hers by the other window. He held tightly to his binder and bag. He fell asleep quickly and dreamt of Greek gods and goddesses and monsters.

He woke up to his mother shaking him slightly. “ _Mi_ _niño_ , wake up. Don't you want to see your new home?"

Nico stared groggily and struggled to get out of his seat. Maria chuckled and placed a hand on his chest. She unbuckled his seatbelt and he stumbled out. He gaped at the new house. It was two stories and made of brick. It was wide and had a garden with a pathway leading to the door. There was a fence that was draped in moss and flowers by the door. There was a small driveway where Nico imagined himself playing. There were houses next to it. The one on Nico's right had a large tree. The one to the left seemed empty. The street was slightly curved.

"What do you think?" his mother's soft voice said.

"It's tall. And long. And there's a lot of grass. Can I go inside?" She nodded and he ran, struggling to keep hold of the large binder and small suede bag.

He stepped inside and was greeted by a kitchen to his left, a living room on his right, separated only by a square pillar and a counter. Next to the kitchen, further back, was a dining room. Next to that was a thick wall with stairs leading up and a hallway beside it. Nico scurried to the hallway to find that two doors on the right and one on left were rooms, and the other door on the far left was a bathroom. He walked back out noticing the way his footsteps echoed loudly in the empty space.

"Echo!" he yelled. His voice was magnified and he laughed. He noticed another door and a see through wall. It was a backyard. Nico always wanted one. He walked out and saw Bianca jumping as Alonso tied a hammock to the trees. "Papa, the house is so cool!"

Alonso smiled. "I'm glad you all like it. Maria, do you want to take them out to get to know the neighborhood while I and the movers unpack? Raphael said there was a lake you could swim in around here."

Bianca gasped. "Can we go to the pool, Mama? Can we please?"

Maria chuckled. "Alright. Come now. Nico leave those on the kitchen counter. Your papa will make sure nobody touches it."

Nico hesitated, but really wanted to swim. So he obeyed.

He took Mama's hand and set out to get to know his new home.


	2. The Best Day

_-Taylor Swift_

 

_August 22, 2002 (5 years old; Percy)_

"Mommy, I want to go to the lake!" Percy begged, tugging on his mother's sleeves.

Percy Dylan Jackson was a little five-year old boy with jet black hair and vibrant sea green eyes. He had light skin and was a little tall for his age. He'd very recently turned five and had enjoyed a day at the waterpark an hour away with both his mom, Sally, and his dad, Caspian to celebrate.

He was a happy child in a happy family. The days in his unimportant little city were often uneventful. That's how people liked it. It's what Percy loved. He loved knowing that every day, he would wake up to Mommy making breakfast, and that he'd spend the whole day with her playing games or going to the lake near the house. And in the afternoon, when Percy was back or the games had ended, Daddy would come home, kiss Mommy hello, and then carry Percy onto his shoulders to ask about his day. Then Percy would spend time with him, learning about the ocean or the creatures that inhabit it. Caspian often promised Percy that one day they'd go out to the beach and he'd teach him to surf. Dinner would be eaten together and before he got tucked into bed, Mommy and Daddy would kiss him goodnight and read him a story.

The only change that had recently happened was the fact that Percy was going into kindergarten in the next week and he and Mommy had been shopping for school supplies. But now that his supplies were put away and labelled, he and Mommy were making their way to the lake.

Percy tugged his mom's hand. "Mommy, why is there a truck in that house?" He pointed to a house, two down from theirs. He looked past the large tree of Mrs. Callida's front yard to a dark blue car where a little girl and a very tall man were getting out.

"Don't point, honey." Sally looked and saw a small woman walking to the car. She smiled and waved. The woman waved back. "They must be moving in. Come on now, let's go to the lake. When we get back, we can say hello. Let them get settled."

"What's 'moving in'?"

"It means they got out of one house and now they're going to live in this one. So they have to move everything and bring it here. That's why the big truck was there. It had all their stuff." Percy nodded. Then he started walking ahead of Sally, jumping over the lines on the sidewalk. "Now why are you doing that?" she asked smiling.

Percy kept jumping. "Because- Grover - said- that-" He stopped jumping and looked back. "If you step on a crack then you break your momma's back."

She smiled. "Oh really? Well then let's watch out for those cracks."

Percy took her hand and together they avoided cracks and lines on the sidewalk. Percy knew it wasn't true, and his friend from arts and crafts had been joking, but he liked when Mommy played with him.

He really loved his mom. She was so sweet and gentle. She always smiled. And she always told him she loved him. He couldn't imagine having any other mom except her. She always smelled like cookies and when she smiled she got crinkles beside her eyes. Her hair was a wavy dark brown and she had a soft voice. His mommy was like a princess.

When the sidewalk thinned to a worn dirt trail, he started running, tugging his mom behind him. 

Then he let go and jumped into the water, gasping happily as he bobbed back up. Sally watched from a picnic table, smiling. Percy started to let his imagination run wild. In his mind, he was controlling the water and caused it to swirl in a circle around him, taking him higher and higher. Then he really strained to try and move the water. The water rippled and Percy gasped.

"Mommy! Mommy, did you see that? I tried to move the water and it moved! It really moved!"

Sally smiled and clapped. "I did see that, baby, good job!" Percy went underwater, splashing happily. Sally glanced at the small acorns in her hand and smiled.

Percy swam under water, holding his breath and pretending to swim with sea creatures. His toes touched the sand at the bottom and he shot upwards, spitting water. He opened his eyes and saw a lady, a little girl, and a little boy. He swam out and stood with his mom.

"Mommy, who are they?"

"I think those are our new neighbors." She walked up to the lady. "Hello, I'm Sally Jackson. This is my son Percy. Did you just move in to the neighborhood?"

"Oh, yes. I'm Maria di Angelo. This is my daughter Bianca. And, oh," she chuckled. "The one hiding behind me is Nico. He's very shy. Nico say hello." She chuckled nervously as Nico refused and instead walked to the edge of the lake and sat down. "Go check on him, _m’ija_ ," she said to the girl.

"Mommy, can I go play with them?" Percy asked.

"Ask their mom."

"Mrs. Maria di Angelo, may I play with your kids?" Percy asked.

Maria laughed and smiled. "Oh, what a lovely little boy. Yes dear, of course. But we're new, and Nico is very shy, so don't feel bad if he doesn't talk okay? Bianca will be the one talking."

Percy nodded and ran toward the others. He slowed down before he reached them. He stood behind them, shivering slightly. "Hi. I'm Percy. I'm five."

Bianca turned. "I'm six. I'm Bianca." She looked at Nico who just stared at Percy blankly. "That's Nico. He's four."

"He doesn't look like he's four."

"He's going to be five on Halloween."

"Halloween!" Percy yelled. "That's so cool! My birthday is Augmest eighteen."

Bianca looked at him strangely. "You mean August?" Percy nodded. "Are you in school?"

"I'm going to be. I'm going to kindergarten."

Nico looked at Bianca then at Percy again. "He's going too. I'm going to first grade."

"Cool! We can all walk home together." He looked at Nico who'd been silently staring at him. "Why doesn't he talk?"

"He's shy."

"But why?" Bianca shrugged. "Why are you shy?" Nico didn't answer. He just looked. "Can you hear me?" Nico continued to look. He didn't respond. He just looked sad. "Are you sad?" Nico stared. Bianca shifted uncomfortably. "Are you scared? Because I'm a little kid I can't do anything. So you shouldn't be scared of me. I'm nice. Promise." He held out a pinky. Nico looked at it, then at Percy. "Okay, you don't have to talk. But can we play? I pretend that I can move the water and that I can talk to sea things. Like fish and dolphins and pretty mermaids. Bianca, you can be a mermaid! Or you can be like a pirate and I have to protect the water. And Nico can be like the captain. And he doesn't talk he just points and stuff and you know what he wants you to do. Or Nico, you can be like a priser and-"

"Prisoner?" Bianca offered.

"Yeah, a prisoner, so you don't talk and me and Bianca have to save you from the ship. Or! I know! We can see who holds their breath longer! Or we can all pretend to control the water." Percy shrugged. "What do you guys want to do?" Nico tugged on Bianca. He talked but he couldn't see Nico's lips move. "What'd he say?"

"Oh it's this weird card game he just got. It has Greek gods and he says you want to control water like Poseidon."

"Poseidon?"

"He's the sea god," Nico said. Then he shrunk back and started messing with his hands.

Percy smiled because Nico finally talked. "Oh cool! I don't know a lot about Grik gods-"

"Greek," Bianca corrected.

"Yeah, but maybe you can teach me with your cards. And we can play that."

Nico looked up. "You want to learn about my cards?"

Percy shrugged. "Sure. It sounds fun. But will you play now?"

"I don't know how to...."

"It's easy! Just use your imaginafun-"

"Imagination?"

"Yeah, and pretend," Percy finished.

Nico shrugged. He and Bianca stood up and waddled into the lake. Percy ran and jumped, splashing them. Bianca gasped and Nico froze. "Percy!" Sally scolded.

"I'm sorry!" Percy said. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, it's just cold," Bianca said. She dipped her head in.

"I think it's in my eye," Nico mumbled.

"It's okay it's just water." Nico blinked a few times. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Nico followed Bianca's example. "Okay, now what?"

Percy smiled.

Sally sat with Maria, watching their kids go into a strange game of pirates and water dragons. "Children have such amazing imaginations," Sally said.

"I still can't believe Nico started talking and playing. Look at him." She looked at her son who was smiling and laughing and screaming. "He usually takes a while to warm up to people, even kids. It's so wonderful to see."

"Maybe Nico and Percy will be in class together. So Nico won't feel so afraid the first day." Maria nodded hopefully. "So what brought your family here? It's a quiet place, not much happens, as big as we are."

Maria's eyes tightened. "It's just... things weren't working out very well where we came from." Sally nodded, understanding. "How long have you lived here?"

"Ever since I left my home. I didn't finish high school. I started working. And I met Caspian. I had Percy and we got married and we got that house. I've been here about nine years."

They stayed there for about half an hour more, children playing, mothers bonding, and then it was time to go.

"Percy, you're welcome to our house whenever you'd like," Maria said.

"And Bianca, Nico, you're both welcome whenever as well."

The children walked down the sidewalk together and Sally and Maria walked behind them.

As Percy and Sally were going to break off and go to their own home, Percy said, "Maybe we'll have the same teacher, Nico! That'd be so cool."

"Yeah," Nico agreed. "When do we start school?"

"I'm registering you both tomorrow morning. You'll start in three days." Maria smiled.

"My tummy feels funny," Bianca said.

"You'll be alright, dear. Say goodbye."

"Bye."

"Goodbye."

Percy waved back and went to his home. "You know what, Mommy?" he said climbing onto a tall chair so he could see his mom cook.

"What, honey?"

"I think me and Nico are going to be best friends."

Sally smiled. "I think so too, sweetheart. Now go take a shower so Daddy doesn't find you all smelly."

"Okay," Percy said hopping off and heading to the bathroom. "Best friends ever. All of us," he said to himself.

Later when he'd gotten out of the bath and put on some PJ's, he sat down on the couch to watch T.V. Mommy was making food. Then, the door opened. "Hey, where's my favorite boy?" he asked with a booming voice. "How was school shopping?"

Percy loved his daddy. He had black hair and green eyes just like him. But Daddy was bigger and stronger. He was tall and when he smiled, his teeth were white as pearls. Percy looked up to him. He was never scared of anything and he taught Percy lots of things, just like Mommy. He always made Percy laugh and Percy knew his daddy was smart. No matter what, Percy always felt happiest when Daddy and Mommy were with him at the same time.

Percy jumped on the couch. "It was great, Daddy! All my stuff has stickers with my name! And we have movers!"

"Neighbors, sweetie," Mommy said from the kitchen. "Welcome home, love," she greeted.

Daddy kissed Mommy on the lips and Percy covered his eyes."Ew! No, stop it, that's gross!" he shouted. He peeked, and saw them both smiling at him. "That's so disgusting!"

"Oh okay, just wait until you have a girlfriend," Daddy said.

"No! Never, ever, ever!"

"Percy, stop jumping on the couch," Mommy laughed. "And yes, we have neighbors. It's a sweet woman with two kids close to Percy's age. I didn't see her husband though. The little boy and Percy are both going to school Monday."

"Oh, so you made a new friend," he said.

"Yeah! And we're going to be the best friends ever!"

Mommy served their food and they listened to Percy's enthusiasm with smiles. He'd started listing all of the games and make believe stories they were going to play. He said they were all going to go to big kid school and always be friends.

After dinner, Daddy and Percy sat down to watch T.V. But he wouldn't let Percy grab the remote to put cartoons. "Daddy! Come on!" Percy whined.

"No," he answered with a smile. "I am the king. I want to watch wrestling."

"But that's boring."

"No, cartoons are boring."

"Nuh-uh!" Percy said. He started reaching for the remote when his daddy started tickling him. "Ah! That's not fair!" he laughed. "Daddy!" Percy scrambled away and crawled around the couch. Then he climbed the back and hopped on his daddy's back. "I'm the king now!"

"No!" he yelled dramatically. "Sally! Sally! He's dethroning me!"

"Don't break anything!" she called back.

Percy grabbed the remote and his daddy went limp. "I win!" Percy said. He put his cartoons and laid down on Daddy's back. Eventually he fell asleep and both of his parents tucked him in and bid their son goodnight.


	3. We're Gonna Be Friends

_By the White Stripes_

 

_August 26, 2002 (5 years old; Percy)_

Percy was awake before his mom. He'd gotten his clothes on, though his shirt was backwards and Sally had to fix it when she got up. She made him toast with jelly. As soon as he finished, he was tugging her out of the door to get to Nico's house so they could all walk to school together.

Sally obliged as Percy heaved his backpack and walked to Nico's house. Percy knocked excitedly, waiting with a wide smile.

Maria opened the door and saw Sally standing behind Percy who was dressed in a 'Daddy's Fishing Buddy' shirt and shorts. He carried an oversized blue backpack that seemed to weigh him down. "Why hello, Percy! Good morning. All ready for school I see."

"Hi, Maria.,” Sally greeted with a sheepish smile. “I'm so sorry. He said he wanted to walk with them to school."

Maria laughed. "It's perfectly fine, Sally. Come on in." Percy raced over to where Nico and Bianca sat. "Are you hungry?"

Percy shook his head. "I ate toast. With jelly. Did you know jelly doesn't come from jellyfish? My daddy taught me that."

Nico didn’t answer, but her looked at his Fruit Loops like he was going to be sick. "Do you think we'll have the same teacher?"

"Yeah because we're friends. We have to," Percy said. "But not Bianca because she's bigger." Nico groaned and pushed his Fruit Loops around. Bianca smiled at him and squeezed his shoulder. Percy wondered what it was like to have a big sister like that.

"So how did you get Nico into kindergarten if he's only four?" Sally asked.

"His birthday's soon and he's very smart. Besides Alonso pulled some strings. Alonso," Maria called. "This is Sally Jackson. She lives two doors down. That's her son Percy."

Percy watched the tall man say hello to his mommy. Then he turned to him and Percy gulped. "That's my Papa," Nico said. "Papa that's my friend Parsie," he introduced through a mouthful of cereal.

"I've heard a lot about you from Nico and Bianca. Ready for school?" Alonso asks.

Percy nodded, a little too afraid to say anything. "We might be in the same class," Nico said. "And Mama said he could come over after school so I can show him Mythomagic."

Alonso smiled. "That sounds great, Nico. I'm glad you made a friend, my boy." Alonso leaned down to kiss his son's forehead. "I'll see you all later. I have to get to work." He gave Bianca a kiss on the cheek, causing her to giggle because of his scruff. He kissed Maria and said goodbye to Percy's mom, leaving the kids to finish breakfast.

When they were done, they got their things and started walking to school with their moms walking behind them. "Do you think we'll get recess today?" Percy asked.

"No, because it's the first day," Bianca said. "I didn't get recess."

"But that was a school far away," Nico said. "What's recess? The candy?"

"No, my mommy says it's when they let you play outside," Percy said.

Meanwhile, in the back, Sally and Maria were talking. "I don't know what I'm going to do without my baby for so long," Sally says.

"I know what you mean," Maria laughs. "It wasn't too bad when Bianca went to kinder since I had Nico to attend to. Now the house will feel so lonely."

"You can always come over," Sally said. "I wouldn't mind the company."

"Oh, I'd love to, but there's still a lot of unpacking to do. The kids' clothes and a few papers I have to sort through. It'll be a cleaning day. Then it'll be lonely."

Sally smiled. "If you need it, just let me know and I'll lend a hand. I wouldn't mind really."

Maria thanked her and nearly tripped over Nico. "Mama, that's my school?" Nico asked. "It's... it's so big." He started reaching behind him for her hand and almost broke her heart. "Mama," he said.

Nico looked very scared, but Percy didn't know why.

"Come on, Nico," Percy said. "It'll be fun. Mommy says they'll teach us a lot of stuff." Nico looked at Percy. "What is it?"

Nico shook his head. "I don't want to leave Mama. Mama, I don't want to leave you all by yourself."

"Oh, _precioso_ , my little angel, don't you worry about me. I have a new friend too." Maria hugged him tightly. "You'll make new friends too. And Percy will be with you and Bianca too. You'll be fine. I'll be fine. Alright? I'll have cookies ready for when you get home." Maria smiled encouragingly. Nico took another breath and looked at Percy and his sister.

"It'll be okay, Nico," Percy said. "If we don't like it, we'll stop going."

"I don't think so, young man. You're going to make it through high school and even college," Sally said with a smile.

"If Nico does too," Percy said. "He's my bestest friend."

Nico stared at Percy. Then he looked at Bianca. "It's not too scary. It's fun in kindergarten," she encouraged.

"Okay," Nico said sadly. He followed Percy and Bianca towards the school. Maria dropped Bianca off first. Then Sally went to drop Percy off in his class. Nico and Percy got the same class and sat in tables next to each other. Percy waved at him and Nico waved back. Percy looked up to his teacher. She was very pretty with a nice smile and curly black hair, and brown eyes. She wore a simple dress and a scarf around her head. She walked over to Nico and crouched to give him his first assignment. Percy walked over. "When's lunch?" Nico asked.

She laughed. "Not for another while, darling. Here, for now take these crayons and draw something to tell us about you. Your favorite animal, your favorite game, your family, anything. I'm Miss Holmes." She was about to stand back up when Percy stopped her.

"Can Nico sit with me? He used to live far away and he's my friend." The teacher cocked her head in a pensive manner. "Please? We'll be good! He's just super shy." He looked at Nico who had wide eyes, hopeful and excited.

The teacher glanced at Nico and smiled. "Oh. Alright, but don't tell anyone. Let me change the names on the desk. Come on." Miss Holmes changed the names and let Nico sit next to Percy. "But I don't want too much talking or I'll move you, okay? Remember school is for learning." Both boys nodded.

"Hi, Nico! Now we sit together," Percy said. "What are you going to draw?" Nico shrugged. "Well don't look at mine. It's a surprise."

Percy bent over his paper and started drawing until his manila paper was full of colorful marks. He looked over as Nico was finishing his. Percy asked who the glowing people were. Nico started telling him about his Mythomagic cards and asked what the animals on his were. Percy told him about all the sea creatures Daddy had taught him about. When it was time to present, Nico got scared. He froze and just stared at the floor, his face turning more and more red. Miss Holmes told him not to worry. After a few kids, it was Percy's turn. He jumped out of his chair.

"My name is Percy and I'm five. This is my mommy and my daddy. I like fish and swimming. And I also made a new friend. That's him. We're playing with cards about people with powers. He's my bestest friend and he's going to teach me to play. This is us in school. And that's you, Miss Holmes." Everyone clapped. Percy beamed at his best friend. Nico smiled and pointed to a stick figure on his own paper.

"I drew you too!" he said. Percy smiled and watched as the other kids presented, some too shy like Nico to go up.

Before they knew it, the day was over and Percy, Bianca, and Nico were sitting outside waiting to be picked up. Mommy was the first one Percy saw by the gate. "Mommy!" he screamed. "It was so awesome! Miss Holmes is super nice, and me and Nico sit together. And we saw Bianca at lunch, but we weren't allowed to get out of line."

She smiled and hugged him tightly. "That's great, honey!" she said. "Bring Nico and Bianca. Maria said I could get them too. She has a small surprise for the three of you."

Percy ran back and told Bianca and Nico to follow him. They walked home, with backpacks much lighter than when they'd gone. "Percy, you're coming over?" Bianca asked. Percy nodded.

When they got in, the smell of chocolate immediately made their mouths water and they automatically sat at the table.

"How was school?" Maria asked.

"Cookies," Nico mumbled.

"Chocolate," Percy added.

"Hungry," Bianca said.

Both mothers laughed and gave each child two cookies. "You'll get more if you eat lunch," Maria promised.

After eating the cookies at lightning speed, and with chunks of cookies in their teeth and chocolate smudges on their lips, they told about their day.

"And the teacher said we would have show-and-tell and pizza parties after tests. I have to read more, so I can get prizes from the treasure box," Bianca said. "She has money she gives us, but it's not real. And we win it when we're good, but if we're bad we have to pay her."

"My teacher let me and Percy sit together! She was nice, and didn't get mad because I was shy," Nico said not-so-shyly. "And she said we get recess on Friday. And the food was gross, but I ate all of it."

"And I got to show my poster, but Miss Holmes kept them because she wants to hang them on the walls for Open Home Day."

"Open House Night," Bianca corrected.

"Yeah," Percy said. "But she said it's when Mommies and Daddies can go see all of our work and she can tell them if we're good. My teacher's super nice." Nico nodded in agreement.

Then they were served spaghetti, which Percy had resorted to calling 'pasketti.' As much as Bianca corrected him, Percy just sang out, "Pasketti! Paske-e-tti-i-i! Pa! Ske! Tti! I love pasketti!"

Nico joined in as Bianca kept shouting, "Spaghetti! It's spaghetti! Stop it!"

"Boys!" Both mothers said. Percy and Nico closed their mouths and laughed hysterically.

"Oh! Mama," Nico said through spaghetti- or pasketti- strings. "Can we watch  _Goofy Movie_ today?" Bianca's eyes widened and she nodded, a persuasion for their mother.

"Of course, neither of you two have homework, right?"

"C-can Percy watch it too?" Nico asked.

Percy's mommy smiled. "Yes, he can. As long as you're showered and in bed by nine, okay Percy?" Percy nodded and scooped the rest of the spaghetti into his mouth. "Oh dear. Percy, honey,  _chew._ It's only four, you still have time to eat properly."

Once the three kids had finished, they sat on blankets- fuzzy Bratz, Ninja Turtles, and Spider-Man ones- on the floor of the living room. They were given small bowls of popcorn and Capri-Suns. Maria put the movie into the VCR and rewound it, giving Percy a glimpse of the movie in reverse.

"Oh my, God!" Bianca said getting up. "Nico! We have to dance!"

"What?" Percy asked.

"Aw, Yanka, do we gotta?" Nico whined.

"Yes! It's Dr. Looney! We  _have_ to! And Percy can be the first one!"

"First one?"

"Get up, get up," she said as the TV showed a large blue and purple parachute. The booming, happy voice introduced the video. "Come on!" Bianca said.

Percy got up and Nico rolled over. "I thought Kansas was in Dorothy," Percy said. Bianca shushed him as the silly dressed grown up trio was "sucked" into a door.

The video was colorful, cartoonish, and silly. "Just do what they do, Percy," Bianca said, already wiggling in her place.

"Ew! Froggie in his throat!" Percy laughed. He and Bianca started the chorus, following everything they did on the video.

Then Bianca started singing her part. " _She's a bundle of nerves, she laughs, she cries!_ " She laughed and then sobbed, making funny faces, causing Nico and Percy to laugh hysterically. "Come on, Nicky!"

Nico rolled his eyes but got up and watched the television, following the movements on screen. He did a funny ants-in-your-pants dance, and the three of them danced to the chorus, singing along and laughing.

Maria and Sally were trying to hide their laughter, but ended up having to hide in the kitchen to laugh into their hands as their kids danced around the living room.

Then the trio sat back down, still laughing as the movie started. Halfway through, Mommy left to start dinner for Daddy, and Alonso came home. When the movie ended, Daddy picked Percy up, and Percy told him all about his day. He showed his daddy the Dr. Looney dance and had him laughing so hard, the lines by his eyes showed.

Then, Daddy went to tuck Percy into bed. "I'm glad you had fun today, Percy," he smiled. "Maybe tomorrow Nico can come here."

"Yeah! And then on a day you don't work, we can play catch with them and go to the lake and to the park and Burger King!"

Daddy laughed and nodded. "We'll have a whole school year and lots of school breaks to do all sorts of thing, okay?" Percy nodded. His daddy leaned over and kissed his forehead. "Goodnight, Percy."

"Goodnight, Daddy," he said softly. He liked that his daddy smelled a little bit like the ocean from his job at the zoo. It was comforting, like Mommy's smell of cookies. He drifted to sleep, smiling and content.

\--

That's how most of kindergarten went. Nico and Percy always sat together and played together. Percy was always excited and Nico was always the shy one who was afraid to speak out.

Every day, after school, Nico Percy and Bianca would walk together and go to either his house or Percy's. They'd do homework, eat, and play until dinnertime. Sometimes they watched  _Goofy Movie_ or another movie on the VCR. Usually, they only did it to dance. Then one of them had to go home. For Nico's birthday, they all went Trick-or Treating. For Thanksgiving, they went to the Jackson's house. Alonso and Caspian didn't get along when they met, but they were all laughs and smiles that day. Nico, Percy, and Bianca ate so much they couldn't even play after. They just watched Disney movies until they fell asleep.

Christmas was spent at the di Angelo's household and Percy got presents from Maria and Alonso. Nico and Bianca got presents from Caspian and Sally. Maria even pulled them all aside to give them an extra gift. She gave Bianca a pin with a flower on it. "Because you're as beautiful as a flower, my dear," she said. To Percy, she gave a small CD player with Spider-Man on the front. "Because a little birdy told me you like to listen to music past your bedtime," she said with a wink. Percy smiled. He did. He loved listening to the car shaped radio, and Mommy had even caught him taking some old CDs from the living room. Then she gave Nico what looked like a small guitar. "Because I love that sweet voice of yours, and your hands were meant to create music," she said with a smile. Added to what Santa had brought them, they all agreed it was the best Christmas they'd ever had.

New Year's was celebrated in the streets with fireworks and a sudden get together of everyone on the block. There were other kids, some younger some older than Percy and Nico and Bianca, but the trio stayed together.

In the next few months, as Percy and Nico and Bianca were playing at Maria's house, Percy got the idea of having a sleepover.

"Ask your mom," Nico said.

"You ask," Percy said.

"Bianca," Nico said.

"Why do I have to do it?" Bianca whined. Nico and Percy gave her puppy eyes and she groaned. "Fine." She got up and walked to the dining room where Maria and Sally were sitting and talking. "Mama?" she said.

"Yes, Bianca?"

"Um...." She looked at the hallway where the boys were poking their head around the corner. "Well, we wanted to know if... we could have a sleepover." Both women looked to the hallway where Nico and Percy had backed away to hide.

" _M’ijo_ , come here," Maria called.

"Percy, hon you too," Sally followed. Both of them stepped out quietly. "A sleepover?" Sally asked. They nodded. Sally and Maria shared a look. "You can't cry in the middle of the night," she said. "And you have to ask permission from Maria."

Percy nodded. "Ms. Maria can I spend the night pretty please?" he asked.

Maria looked to Nico who nodded and smiled. "If your Mama's okay with it, then of course."

"Mommy?" Percy asked.

"If you promise to behave and do as Maria and Alonso tell you."

"I will, I swear," he said. "Pinky promise." He held out his pinky and his mom looped their pinkies together. " _Yes!_ " he yelled. Then the trio ran back to the toys and started playing. "Thank you, Bianca!" Percy said.

"What do we play now? I want to play something," Nico said.

Percy went to the chest full of toys. "Ninja turtles!" he said. "I'll be Mikey, you'll be Donnie, and Bianca can be April."

"No!" they both said. "Donnie likes April! Bianca's my sister!"

"I want to be a ninja turtle too," Bianca said.

"But you're a girl," Percy said.

"So? It's pretend. It doesn't matter. I want to be Leonardo."

"She can't do that," Percy said. Nico shrugged. "You can't do that."

Bianca grabbed the mask. "I can to. I want to, so I will."

"What's all the noise?" Alonso said poking his head in. "Hey Percy, I hear you're spending the night."

"Yes sir, Mr. Alonso," Percy said. He wasn't as afraid of him anymore, but still always called him sir.

Maria opened the door a little more. "Percy, dear, your Mama's leaving come say goodnight."

The three of them left the room to say goodbye to Sally. "Be good, baby. Maria has PJ's for you to wear okay?" Percy nodded.

When Sally left, Alonso said, "Alright kids, it's not time to sleep, but go ahead and get into PJ's. Tomorrow we can go to IHOP."

"No," they all whined. Alonso blinked. "We want Mc Donald's."

Maria laughed and Alonso smiled. "Very well, cheaper for me," he laughed.

Maria hugged him. "Go on and play you three. Bed time in an hour and a half."

They started running and Nico said, "I like when they do that."

"Do what?" Percy asked. Bianca had left to change.

"When they're happy. They used to fight a lot but now they're happy. I like when they're happy. Keep it a secret."

"Pinky promise," he said. Nico looped his pinky with Percy's and smiled. "What PJ's do I wear?"

Nico gave him some Ninja Turtles PJ's. "Okay! I'm in my PJ's, let's play now!" Bianca said. "Papa can be Shredder!"

Nico and Percy exclaimed in excitement and they went to bombard Alonso in the living room. "Papa! Papa!" Nico shouted. "Papa, come on! We want you to play!"

"What?" he said as they yanked at his hands. Percy just smiled off to the side. "Play what?"

"We need you to be Shredder!" Nico said. "Come on, I'll let you use my mask!" He stopped tugging. "Mama can be Karai!"

"Oh, God," Alonso mumbled. He looked at Maria who smiled slightly. "Okay, okay," he laughed. He tugged Maria and they used the whole house for a made up Ninja Turtles episode.

Later, all three kids were asleep in the living room, exhausted from the days' play.

"I'm glad Nico made a friend," Alonso said. "It's good for him."

"It is," Maria agreed. "I can't wait to watch them grow up. Imagine the three of them in high school," she giggled. "Oh, but I do love seeing them so small."

"This is good right? I did something right?" Maria turned and kissed her husband. "I love you," he told her.

"I love you," she answered.

As their footsteps receded, Percy opened his eyes to the dim room. He saw Nico's eyes and his smile. Nico raised a finger to his lips. "Sh," he said.

Percy raised his pinky. Nico rolled over and the two of them fell asleep.


	4. Slipped Away

_February 24, 2005 (Seven Years Old; Nico)_

Ever since kinder, Nico and Percy sat together. They just always worked better that way. And the teachers didn't mind. Nico was the quiet one who excelled in his schoolwork, while Percy was the more hyper and distracted of the two who had enough charisma for the both of them. Usually, Nico was helping Percy with his homework, because he wouldn't listen if Sally was the one trying to explain.

Nico, Bianca, and Percy were always together, either spending the night, playing at each other's house, or walking to and from school. The summer after kindergarten, they'd gone to watch Finding Nemo. The summer after that, they went to watch The Incredibles. Their holidays had always been happy and full of laughter. Nico and Bianca even got help from Papa to print pictures of them for Mama’s pretty yellow necklace on a thin gold chain. One side had Nico, Bianca, Mama, and Papa. The other had Percy, Sally, and Caspian.

Things had become a comfortable, happy routine unlike the one they had before they moved. Come home to sweets, do homework, watch movies, play outside or inside, go to bed. On weekends, the parents would all get together and take them to the zoo, or the museum, or the park, or to a fast food restaurant where they'd play in the kids' play area. There were no more arguments, no more closets, no more crying or yelling or slamming doors.

Now Nico and Percy were in second grade.

"Okay,  _m’ijo,_ I don't want you taking off your beanie until you get inside the school. And when you get out, put it back on. I don't want you to catch a cold," Mama said. "Bianca, my love, zip the jacket up all the way. Yes, there you go. All nice and warm." She smiled at her two children. It was that smile that Nico loved to see. It made him feel safe and warm. "Okay, now just wait on Percy."

Not even a second after she said that, the doorbell rang. "Hi, Percy," Nico and Bianca said in unison.

"Hi, Bianca, hi, Nico!" he answered. "I wish they cancelled school. It's so cold and I don't like all this stuff on me." He hobbled in a circle, making the di Angelo children snicker. Percy was wearing a thick jacket that made him look twice his weight, a thick wool scarf wrapped around his neck so that he couldn't look down, and beanie with flaps to cover his ears. "I feel stupid," he muttered.

"Perseus, language!" Sally said.

"Sorry, Momma." Percy looked at his friends. "Do you think it'll snow?"

Mama smiled. "Maybe. You never know with Briarwood. Okay kids, time to go to school. When you get home, I'll have some warm fudge brownies, yes?"

"Yes!" the trio said. "Goodbye, Mama, I love you," Bianca said hugging her tightly. She gave her a kiss on the cheek and bounded to the doorway.

"Goodbye, Mama. See you after school!" Nico said hugging her. She tried to kiss his forehead and pull his beanie on better, but he ducked, not wanting a red stain on his face. She laughed at him and he took Bianca's hand by the door.

"Bye-bye Mrs. Maria di Angelo," Percy said, accepting a kiss on his hair.

Then Sally walked the three of them to school where they said goodbye to her as well. Percy and Nico raced to their class and waved to Bianca.

Their teacher this year was a woman named Ms. Serena. She was very pretty, Nico thought. She was nice and silly. She was always wearing sparkly jewelry and didn't even wear make-up. At least Nico didn't think she did. Sometimes she dabbed on a bit of concealer before taking them to gym.

After social studies, they started reading. Nico knew Percy didn't like this part, so he gave him one of his stickers that said  _Good job!_ Nico loved the reading part of class. Percy said he didn't like it because the letters looked funny and moved around. When Nico told Mama and Papa, they said maybe Percy had dyslexia. Nico wrote down the word and told Percy the next day. Percy didn't like having dyslexia. But he smiled at the sticker.

"Okay boys and girls, after lunch, we'll start on math. Put away your journals. And guess what?"

"What?" the class chorused.

"It's time for a song!" she said excitedly. "What song do you want?"

"I want that song about having the girl with a boyfriend who looked like someone's girlfriend. Or that one about being gone from that girl," Percy whispered to Nico.

Nico made a face. "No! I think we're too little to know those songs. Plus last week, Jacob Hernandez tried to tell on me for saying ‘darnit.’ I don’t think they’ll like those songs."

"Daddy let us listen when they were on the radio," Percy said. Nico shrugged.

"Hakuna Matata!" someone yelled.

Mrs. Serena obliged and started the song, getting the whole class to dance along and sing. Somewhere along the chorus as Percy and Nico jumped in synch to having no worries, the intercom buzzed.

"Ms. Serena?" said the nice lady in the office. "Can you send Nicolas di Angelo to the front office please? His dad's here to pick him up."

"Sure, he's on his way," the teacher called up, after stopping the music. Nico looked at Percy. "Nico go ahead, sweet pea."

"Nico?" Percy said. "Why's Mr. Azrael here?"

Nico shrugged and grabbed his things. He went to the front office, following the lion prints on the floor. He saw Bianca sitting in another chair in the office, and she looked as confused as Nico felt.

Azrael didn't say a word. He nodded, put a hand on each child's shoulder, and led them out.

"Papa?" Bianca said.

"Papa, why are you picking us up?" Nico asked.

"Get in the car." They scrambled in and Bianca took Nico's hand. Nico shuffled closer to her. It brought back memories of hiding in a dark closet when he was four. He stared at his dad and held on to Bianca's hand.

They saw Sally's car pull in. Bianca and Nico watched as she got out of her car crying and walked into the school."

"Papa, why's Sally here?" Nico asked. “Why’s she crying?” He wanted Mama in the car too, because he was getting scared, and Mama always helped not be scared anymore.

Papa didn't answer. He just gripped the steering wheel tighter, so it looked like his knuckles would pop out. Nico stayed quiet, scared to say anything.

Then at the stop sign before turning onto their street, Papa stopped driving and just stared. A car came up and honked, making Nico feel more afraid. He didn't want his Papa getting mad at a stranger and yelling at them. But Papa didn't move, or even turn to yell at the driver. The car turned and kept going. Then Sally's car stopped behind them. Nico saw her come to the window and Papa stepped out. Sally opened the door for both of them. Bianca and Nico got out, still holding hands. Percy moved toward Bianca and held her hand too. They could see their breaths in the cold that nipped their nose.

"Yanka, it's snowing," Nico whispered. The three of them looked up.

"We should tell Ms. Maria," Percy said. He held out a hand to catch a flake.

Sally looked at Azrael then kneeled down. Azrael was leaning against his car with an arm as a rest, hiding his face.

"Nico, Bianca... Percy. Listen, babies," she started with a shaky voice. Sally couldn't keep herself together as she looked from Bianca to Nico to Percy. Her lip started shaking and her eyes were red and watery. Her voice barely came out, and broke often. It made Nico sad, because Sally was always happy. She was like Mama. They were always smiling. Also, Nico knew Percy didn't like seeing his Mama cry.

"Something's happened. Something very bad." Nico counted the three tears that fell quickly down her kind face. She took Nico and Bianca's hand. Nico saw that Bianca was shaking too. Nico didn't know what was going on. He didn't understand. Sally's hand was cold and light. "It's your Mama," she said. Nico stared at her. Bianca made a weird noise. Percy scooted closer to Nico. Papa clenched his fist. "She was.... Something very bad happened to her.... She got very hurt." Bianca cried quietly and Nico stared at Sally. He felt what Ms. Serena called jitters in his stomach. "She went to get something, and there was a… fire...."

Nico blinked. "Is she at the hospital?" Bianca squeezed his hand.

"Mommy?" Percy asked. It didn't make sense. It was too cold for a fire.

Sally shook her head crying. "It was an explosion, baby. She's… in heaven now."

Nico noticed a lot of things at once. The dragonfly that passed the stop sign, the ants on the sidewalk, Percy making a sound though it was so sudden and short, Nico wasn't sure Percy actually made it, and it just echoed in his brain, Bianca letting go of Nico and scraping her knees on the ground at the same time Nico saw his papa fall to the floor beside her.

But Nico didn't know what happened to himself.

To everyone else, he looked like a small zombie. He didn't cry, he didn't shout, he didn't move or run. It seemed he didn't know what was happening around him. Azrael tried talking to him, but Nico didn't answer. It seemed Nico couldn't hear him. He couldn't focus on his papa. Bianca tried pulling him along, but he stayed in place. Percy tried talking to him, but again, Nico didn't hear. He got carried home. He didn't see the flashing police lights or Mrs. Callida outside in a long robe. He didn't smell the chocolate batter for brownies. He couldn't hear The Smiths cassette tape in the radio, which Mama always listened to when she was at home.

He didn't go to school the next few days; he stayed in bed, either asleep or staring at nothing and mute. Percy went over every day just to sit next to him with Bianca who was always crying and holding her flower pin and her green hat. She said it smelled like Mama. Percy cried too. He always looked at the pictures all around the house of everything they'd done in the last two years. He cried so much, it seemed he was crying for Nico and himself.

Azrael felt empty and lost. He'd lost his other half. He stayed up late into the night just staring at their wedding picture, at the picture of her in the hospital after Nico or Bianca's birth, and let his finger hover over every aspect of her face. He often turned and expected to see her petite, curvy figure behind him, smiling. He expected her sweet, melodic, accented voice to chide him for not being at work. He expected to hear her singing in Spanish, or singing to The Smiths, her soft rasp floating through his ears.

Sally was crying as much as Percy, that Caspian took a few days off work to try and comfort her to no avail. She kept Percy home for a few days before Caspian started taking him. Her best friend was gone.

Azrael didn't know what to do with Nico, so it was up to Sally to try to feed him. The thing was, Nico wouldn't react to anything. At one point, Sally made Percy and Bianca leave and tried getting Azrael to talk to him. He wouldn't react. Eventually, Azrael slapped him to get a reaction, but that didn't work either. Nico didn't blink or gasp or touch his cheek. Azrael hugged him tightly, regretfully, but Nico's arms stayed motionless.

Sally had to dress Nico the day of the funeral. Percy sat on the toy chest and stared out of the window. Bianca came in with a black dress and sat next to Percy. She held onto her hat and cried.

"It doesn't smell like her anymore!" she cried. "I don't smell her anymore," she sobbed. "Why can't I smell her anymore?"

"Oh Bianca," Sally said moving toward her. "Come here, sweetie."

Sally tried to wrap her arms around her, but Bianca pushed her. "No! Go away! You're not my Mama! Just go away!" Percy started crying again and Sally took the feeble lashes from Bianca. 

Sally's eyes teared up. "Bianca, I know, sweetie. I know." Bianca had slumped against Sally, clutching her hat. "I know; I miss her too." Nico sat, staring at the ground in a half buttoned tux.

What nobody knew was that the whole time, Nico, was reliving moments.

He remembered that when he got home from his first day in kindergarten, Mama had a batch of cookies fresh out of the oven for the three of them. He remembered that when Percy stayed at his house while Sally went grocery shopping and scraped his knee, Mama sang the healing song she sang to Nico. He remembered that in the summer, when Mrs. Callida's nephew came over, Mama had invited them to dinner so the little boy could make friends. Nico stayed back while Percy played with the curly haired boy.

He remembered when he got sent to the principal's office in first grade for taking more books from the library than he was allowed, and Mama went and talked the secretary and librarian into letting him. From then on, instead of only getting three picture books, Nico was allowed to take five. He remembered that when he was sick, Mama would make him chicken and vegetable soup that was so good, he'd even eat the vegetables. He remembered that when Mama got sick, he would go to her room and read to her after singing the healing song together.

She taught him to love books and rhyming stories that weren't stories. She taught him to love music and play the ukulele. She would say, "Words and notes, Nico- those are important. It's everything out in the open for anyone to interpret. There is no right or wrong to the poems we read or the music we play and listen to. It's always based on what's here." She would touch his heart lightly. "Always put your heart into your music and let yourself feel. It's always in your heart. Always,  _mi amor._ "

Then the summer of first grade, when Mrs. Callida's nephew came again, Nico got mad because he thought Percy wasn't going to be his friend anymore, and Mama talked to him. She told him it was okay to make new friends, but that she knew Nico was Percy's best friend like Percy was Nico's. She promised that Percy would never leave Nico for other friends, and that Percy was just very nice and not as shy. She told Nico to let Percy know what he felt, and Nico did. Percy said sorry and told the boy, who Nico learned was named Leo, that he wanted to include Nico more. And they did.

That same summer, Mama took Nico aside one day that Papa and Bianca were watching scary movies that Nico didn't like and talked to him about love for the first time. Nico didn't get why. He only saw love with Mama and Papa, and Sally and Caspian, or in books and TV. Nico thought girls were weird and too loud.

Mama told him love comes in a lot of forms, and sometimes two girls or two boys can fall in love too. Nico still didn't get it. He thought boys were gross and weird too. Nico shrugged and said, "Okay, but I don't love anybody." Mama just laughed and said, "I know,  _m’ijo_ , but one day you will. I don't want you to be afraid of it. I want you to know that as long as the person you love makes you happy, it's okay. I want you to let yourself feel. You can always tell me anything." Nico was getting uncomfortable, so he told Mama to read him more rhyming non-stories instead.

He remembered that Mama always gave him a hug before he went to bed and when he left to go into the school. He remembered Mama taking them to the lake. He remembered Mama making hot cocoa for everyone, even Mr. Caspian and Mrs. Callida on cold days. Mama was always so nice.

And they tried to tell him that she was dead? They tried to tell him she was in an explosion? That didn't make sense. It was a cold day. It was snowing! Mama wanted to see the snow. She knew it would snow. She said she'd have brownies for them after school. He told her he'd see her after school. It didn't make sense to Nico that something so good and pretty could be gone forever. It just didn't make sense to him. Who was supposed to kiss him when he went to bed now? Who was going to make him soup and sing him healing songs? Who would walk him to school or make cookies and brownies when school was over? Who would take pictures the first day of school? It just couldn't be true. There was no way that could happen. There were too many things Mama had to be and do. She couldn't just be gone. She was too important. He realized nobody would call him little Spanish nicknames again. He would never see her again. He would never hear her voice, her laughter, or her singing. He would never see that smile that made him feel safe and warm anymore. He would only see her in pictures. He would never feel her warmth and her hugs or get a red stain on his face from her kiss. He'd never smell her sweet honey-like smell. She would never make cookies or hot cocoa for him, his sister, and his best friend again. She would never read rhyming non-stories. She was gone forever, and there was no way Nico could ever get her back.

If only he knew. He would've stayed and memorized everything. He wouldn't have let her go anywhere. He would’ve let her kiss his forehead before school even if it stained red.

Nico was suddenly back in the present when he saw the closed casket. He saw Papa finally break down and cry. Papa never cried. He felt Bianca take his hand and turned to see Percy holding her other, crying. He saw Sally crying, and Mr. Caspian too.

No. His mama wasn't in there. The casket was empty. And Nico would prove it.

He ran toward the casket and threw open the lid at the same time his father screamed, "No!"

Nico just stared. This wasn't his Mama. It was a trick. It had to be. Mama was beautiful. He didn't know who was in the casket. Something very bad happened to this... thing. There was no way to tell who or what it was. Nico couldn't comprehend exactly what this was. Even through the bag, he just saw pieces of skin and even bones. The skin was black, red, and not at all like Mama's skin. And the smell.... It smelled like something terrible. Something Nico never had and never wanted to smell. This couldn't be her. Mama smelled sweet and looked beautiful.

Then Nico saw the necklace.

He fell back, seeing darkness and hearing nothing.

Percy and Bianca both cried as the adults surrounded Nico.

He came to as they got home and as soon as they put him in a chair, he lost it. He started screaming and crying and hitting his head. He started coughing, but he kept screaming. He wanted his Mama. He ran around and threw things to the ground, tore whatever he could tear, and broke breakable things. He threw things at the wall and started slamming the door.

"Nicolas!" Papa said, grasping his arms angrily. "That is enough!" Nico did something he never did before. He spit at his father's face. Bianca cried as she watched her little brother get spanked for misbehaving. Nico screamed at the top of his lungs, causing Sally to go upstairs and check on him. Azrael told her what happened and she took Nico to his room.

Eventually, Nico stopped screaming. Sally came back out and walked to Bianca. She took her to her room as well. She went to get one of Mama's shirts and put it on Bianca, which made Bianca cry but still feel a little better. Sally stayed until Bianca fell asleep. Then she left and talked to Azrael.

"They just lost their mother," she said with a raw voice. The voice of someone who'd spent the last two weeks crying. "Spanking them won't help anything."

"His behavior is out of hand," Azrael said, feeling like a bad father. "That's never happened before. I don't know what I'm supposed to do!"

"They've never lost their mother," Sally said calmly. "Bianca holds Maria's belongings, Nico goes into fits of anger. You can't get angry at them. He's only seven years old; he doesn't know what else to do. He was already a shy boy, now Maria's gone, and he went through a mute stage. Now this. You have to control him, not punish him. If you need help, tell me. But don't ever lay a finger on them again."

"You spent too much time with Maria. You sound just like her," he said sadly, staring at his hands.

"She was my best friend," Sally said. She wiped a tear that fell. "I have to get back to Caspian and Percy. Percy was afraid, and Caspian just got home." She hugged Azrael and left.

When Nico went back to school, he didn't want to do anything. He didn't want to answer, or do his work, or go to recess, or check out books. He just sat there. Percy still sat next to him, and Nico only talked to Percy. He didn't even talk to Ms. Serena anymore, even though she was very sweet with him, and even cried with him once when he stayed in from gym. Percy was the one that got him to do things. To walk, to eat, to move. Percy was the only one who didn't get mad at him or yell at him or cry in front of him- at least since the funeral. Percy didn't get afraid when Nico started throwing things. Percy knew why Nico did it, even though Nico didn't. Percy said his mom told him why. If it happened in school, Percy would pick up after Nico. If it happened at home, Percy waited then helped Nico clean. If it happened in public, like a grocery store, Percy would pull on his arm until Nico stopped. Papa never hit him again. Bianca only cried and held a shirt or sweater or hat. Sally cooked and cleaned for them until Papa moved all his work into the house.

Then the day came that the "Muffins with Mom" flyers went out. Ms. Serena didn't give Nico one. Nico didn't care. Until the actual day. Most of his class, including Percy, left to the cafeteria to celebrate Mother's Day. Nico started shaking. Ms. Serena tried to keep him calm by giving him colors. Nico just broke them and threw the pieces. Azrael was called to take him home. Bianca was taken home too, since she cried the entire day. The school wasn't bothered by them. The principal had lost her father at a young age, and completely understood. She even offered to allow homeschooling for the rest of the school year, but Azrael assured her it wasn't necessary. The memory of Maria was much stronger there anyway.

When Nico calmed down, he looked at his father. Nico noticed how different Papa looked. He had purple under his eyes. He didn't seem so tall. He didn't walk like he was the strongest man ever anymore. He walked like he was always tired. And his voice wasn't loud and strong, but quiet and angry and sad. Bianca didn't smile anymore. She didn't correct anybody. Her eyes were never dry.

Mama's death had caused a difference for everyone in Nico's life. Papa changed, Bianca changed, even the Jackson family had changed drastically. Sally spent so much time helping Bianca and Nico and Azrael that she and Caspian argued a lot. Percy got very sad very often and when Nico asked, Percy would say, "Mommy and Daddy keep getting mad. I'm scared. But it's okay. Can I go to your house?" Eventually, Sally and Caspian split up before things got ugly. That summer, Caspian packed and left. Percy was sitting on the steps to his house, crying quietly, and Nico sat by him and took his hand, like he did with Bianca when she cried. Sally cried only because Percy did. Caspian was gone, and never contacted them throughout the summer. Not even on Percy's birthday.

Slowly, Nico's tantrums became less disastrous and less frequent. Bianca had run out of Mama's clothes, and Azrael had picked up some cooking skills. Sally and Percy lived alone now.

The only thing that remained the same, was that Bianca still protected him and Percy was still his best friend. They had their sleepovers again. In fact the first time Nico laughed again was during one, and even though he felt bad for it, Bianca started laughing too. Then Percy. Until all three of them were on the floor, holding their stomachs and laughing. Nico realized he was letting himself feel. Even though it made him sad to think of what Mama used to tell him, he liked knowing that she was still around in what she taught him. The next morning, he picked up a book for the first time in months.

Slowly, Nico got used to his new life. He realized that he needed to be happy because of the things he still had instead of sad over things he didn't. And Mama would get mad at him for behaving the way he did.

He still had Papa, and Bianca, and Percy, and Sally. He had to cherish them. He didn't want them getting taken away from him too.


	5. Count On Me

_July 9, 2006 (Eight years old; Percy)_

Percy sat next to Nico as he pushed against his head. Something had triggered a memory of Maria, and he was going into a fit again. Percy was glad they didn't happen a lot like they used to after two years, but they still happened and Percy always stayed by him.

He reached out to grab his best friend's arm, but Nico shrunk away.

After a little bit, Nico sighed and looked up at Percy. "Why don't you ever go away?" he asked.

Percy felt his eyes sting. His best friend wanted him to go away. "I know I can't help you, but I don't want you to be alone.... Do you want me to go away?" he asked.

Nico looked down. "No. You're my best friend." Then after a little bit, "Thank you."

Percy smiled. "No problem." He glanced at the pile of books on the floor. "You read too much," he said. They'd only finished third grade, but Nico had already read all the Magic Treehouse books, and was even reading one called Stone Fox that made Percy's head hurt when they read it in class.

"There is no such thing," Nico said quietly. "Words are special." He smiled. "I just wish I had a real guitar because the ukulele is getting boring. I can play  _Somewhere Over the Rainbow_ and that one song on the movie with a bunch of first dates."

Percy's mouth fell open. "You're too smart, it's not fair."

"The glasses won't help," Bianca said walking in. She was wearing a pretty flower dress and the pin from Maria. She was ten now and she liked to pretend that she didn't like playing with them anymore. She painted her nails and always put her hair in a braid with fake flowers. She was pretty, but Percy saw her as his sister. Still, it was fun to make Nico mad sometimes. "Did he tell you?"

"Papa wants to take me to the eye doctor because I can't see far away," Nico mumbled. "I don't want glasses."

"Hey Bianca," Percy said.

"Hey, Perce. Neeks, have you seen my other shoe?"

"No how would I? You never even let me in your room." Bianca huffed. "Where are you going?"

"Daddy's taking me to Zoe's house. We're going to put on a fashion show." Nico made a face. "Don't ask then!"

Nico stuck his tongue out at her and Percy told himself not to laugh. Then he said, "Bianca's so pretty."

Nico turned to glare at him. "You're not supposed to like girls yet, they're gross. And she's my sister! You're not allowed to like her. Ever, ever, ever!"

"I didn't say I liked her." Nico rolled his eyes. "I think I lo-ove her," he said.

"Percy that's gross!" Nico screamed. "No! You're not allowed to like her! Ever!"

Percy just laughed. "Aw, you know I'm just pretending, Neeks. It's not really real."

"Let's go play with Leo," Nico said. They saw Bianca in the hall but Nico pushed Percy before Percy could pull more tricks. "Go," Nico said when they got to the door.

Nico was still shy around everyone else besides him, Mr. Azrael, Bianca, Sally, and Leo. Percy always had to do the talking. "Mrs. Callida?" Percy yelled. "Can Leo come over to play?" Leo peeked through the window.

"Tia Callida! Percy and Nico are here! Can I go play? Yes I promise! Yes!" Leo ran out and stopped in front of Nico and Percy. "Hi guys," he said.

"Hey!" Percy said. "What do you want to play?"

Leo shrugged. "Anything."

Nico tugged on Percy's arm. "Who's that man?" Nico asked.

Percy glanced and saw Gabe, the man who started coming to his house a lot and talked to Mommy all the time. He made her smile and laugh, and sometimes played with Percy. "That's Gabe. He's my mom's friend." They watched Sally open the door to Gabe and let him in. Gabe looked out the window and waved at Percy. Percy waved back. "Okay, I think we should go to the lake because it's super-hot and I'm going to sweat if we play something for running."

"But you always want to be at the lake," Nico whined. "If you're going there, can I bring my Magic Treehouse book?"

Percy grabbed Nico's shoulders and shook him. "Stop reading!" he said. "You've been reading stuff since you came to this house."

"Yeah, and I like it. I don't like the water because I get cold easy."

"I don't like it either, it's too wet," Leo said. Percy made a face of confusion. "We should play something else. We can go inside and we won't sweat. And if we do, we can go to the pool. And Nico, you can read."

"Okay," Percy said. "Nico I thought you already read all the Magic Treehouse books."

"Papa bought me a new one. It's about a big ship called the Titanic. You know from the movie?"

"I have an idea!" Leo shouted. "Nico, what was the last Treehouse book you read?"

Nico thought for a little. "Hour of the Olympics why?"

"And what happened in it?"

"Jack and Annie go to Greece and have to find a book, so this super smart guy named Plato helps them find it. Then he tells Jack to watch the Olympics with him, but not Annie because girls aren't supposed to do anything, so she dresses up like a boy but then they find out and they have to leave." Nico smiled, proud of having retold it so well.

Leo smiled. "What were the Olympics like?"

Nico went on to fascinate Percy and Leo with extensive knowledge on the vicious, competitive games of ancient Greece. Percy felt really happy that his best friend was so smart. He also liked seeing Nico get really excited when he and Leo asked questions about the books. Nico was always so quiet, and Percy was always happy to make him smile now and then.

Once the boys had enough information about the games and Greece, their minds transformed their clothes to tunics and armor and the yards around them into weapons and obstacles. To anyone looking in on them, you'd see three little boys jumping and screaming, shoving, and making faces. But to them, they were fighters, winners, and comrades or animals. They were overcoming the impossible and doing marvelous feats of heroism.

"Boys!" Azrael called out. "Come have something to drink or you'll all dehydrate and get sick!"

"What's dehydrake?" Percy asked as they walked in.

"Dehydrate," Bianca corrected from the couch. She'd returned soon from her friend's house. Percy rolled his eyes. After nearly four years of getting corrected by her, it got tiring.

"It means not having water, I think," Nico said.

"When we get really big and go to high school," Leo said, "I think Nico's going to be valemitorian."

"Huh?" Percy, Nico, and even Bianca asked.

"I believe you mean valedictorian," Azrael said with a smile. "It means the smartest one in your grade right before you graduate." Percy jumped up and grabbed a paper and pencil, already knowing Nico would ask for some. Anytime Nico didn't know a word, he wrote it down and what it meant, so he could know it from then on. Percy had become his paper supplier.

Once Nico wrote it down and put it in his pocket, Percy finished the rest of his lemonade. "Let's go play again!" he said.

"Why don't you three take a break? I think Arthur's on PBS Kids," Azrael said. They all groaned. "Alright I'll allow Spongebob, but only today! Not another episode until next week." The boys hopped off their chairs and bounced on the couch around Bianca who already had the remote in her hands.

Percy looked back in the kitchen where Azrael was standing. Ever since Maria died, he'd been extra careful about what he let Nico and Bianca do and see and say. They both had to take naps at noon when they didn't go to school, which meant Percy had to walk around his room and house until Nico was let out to play again. When they played, they had to take water breaks and sit inside or in the shade for a while so he wouldn't get sick. Now, if Percy got sick, Nico couldn't come over and sit with him. Bianca wasn't allowed to go with friends for a long time if there wasn't a parent. She wasn't allowed to sleep over at Percy's anymore. And they could only watch PBS Kids, with one exception a week. This wouldn't have bothered Percy if he hadn't spent so much time with Nico. It was as if Azrael was his father too. But Percy also kind of understood why he was like that, especially as he looked at him gently place his finger on the picture of Maria they had on the counter.

Nico nudged him. "Percy, can I go to your house so we can watch Courage the Cowardly Dog?"

Although they were allowed to watch only PBS Kids in Nico's home, and Sally had been asked by Azrael not to let Nico watch anything besides aforementioned channel, Nico and Percy had begged enough that Sally allowed them to watch other channels as long as they kept it a secret. Percy nodded and they all settled down to watch Patrick's meltdown at Spongebob's departure to live with the jellyfish of Bikini Bottom. Nico had made sure that Percy and Bianca sat on opposite sides of the couch which made Percy want to laugh.

When they went back outside, they started playing hopscotch, but it got dark quickly, sending them home to wait for another day. "Mr. Azrael, can Nico sleep over?"

"Again?" Azrael asked. "Alright, I can get you in the morning."

"That's not fair!" Bianca called from the hallway. She stormed out. "How come Nico always gets to go to Percy's but I can't stay the night with Zoe? You made me come home early!"

"Darling, you know I don't like either of you going anywhere with people you barely know. We've known Sally for nearly four years already-"

"Then let me stay over there with them! Percy was my friend too!"

"Bianca, I can't let one girl stay with two boys," Azrael said.

"Why not, Papa? If Nico can't go, why can't I?"

"Yeah, Papa," Nico said. "We're two boys and one girl here too. Why's it different?"

Azrael sighed. "Go on boys, see you tomorrow." Nico opened his mouth, but Azrael gave him a look.

Nico and Percy left, but Percy looked back, and saw Bianca crying and screaming at her father. Percy felt bad. He didn't know why they couldn't sleep over all together anymore either. It didn't make any sense.

"Maybe Papa knows you like her," Nico said when Percy asked.

Percy shook his head. "I told you that was a joke. I don't like Bianca, she's like my sister too. I don't like any girls, they're all weird. It's just fun to make you mad."

Nico shrugged and they went into the house. "Hi, Sally," he said.

"Hi, Nico. Spending the night?" Nico nodded. "Okay. Did you two get dinner yet?" Nico shook his head. "Bianca's not coming?"

Percy and Nico shared a look. "Papa said she's not allowed because it's two boys and one girl."

Mom's face did a funny change. It went from sweet to annoyed and angry. She hummed and walked out of the house. Percy and Nico looked at each other and ran to the window. They waited and waited, and then they saw her coming back out with Bianca. Nico's and Percy's jaws dropped.

They walked in and Percy and Nico just stared. "I believe he forgot that I'm a girl too," she huffed. "Go on, dear; put your things in my room. I'll make dinner, and when the boys play, you and I can do our nails."

Bianca nodded, and Nico turned to Percy. "Sally is awesome," he said.

Bianca came back in Hannah Montana PJs. "It was so cool," she said. The three of them sat on the couch as she told them what happened. "I was crying in my room and I hear a knock on the door, and I hear Sally's voice. So I peek, and she's shoving her finger in Papa's chest. She said that she's a girl and she should be able to come over. That if he wanted to be technical, there were three boys over there and one girl, while here it was two girls and two boys. She said I should have some fun too, and that she wouldn't mind doing my nails and my hair and playing games- all four of us. And Papa was just staring at her and then he nodded and told me to get my things. And then we came here."

Nico and Percy smiled widely. "Yay!" Percy said. "You can come over now. But I have a question." Bianca nodded. "Every time we ask you to play with us, you say no, but you wanted to come over."

Bianca blinked. "What's the question?"

Percy groaned. "I'm asking why do you say you don't wanna play with us, but then cry because you can't come over? Why do you pretend that you don't like playing with us sometimes?"

Nico fidgeted and glanced at Bianca. "I never said that. It's just I like going to hang out with Zoe sometimes, because we actually do girly stuff. Her cousin Diana takes us to the mall and stuff. You guys don't like that stuff. And sometimes your games are too little for me, like playing pretend."

"It's because she thinks she's a big girl," Nico said. "You're just ten years old."

Bianca flicked his ear. "I  _am_ big. I'm going to be eleven. And besides, I can't babysit you guys all the time. You're getting bigger too."

Percy got a funny feeling knowing he was growing up. He didn't like the idea that one day he wouldn't like playing pretend anymore. He didn't like the idea of fun changing from running around outside to going to the mall to buy hats and expensive shoes. He didn't want to grow up. He wanted the three of them to just stay little and stay friends that played pretend.

He smiled. "You guys know what we haven't done in forever?" he asked.

"What?" Bianca asked.

"You guys have to promise we'll do this again, right now."

Bianca and Nico shared a look. Then they each held out a pinky and looped it through one of Percy's.

"Mommy!" he called. "Can I use the computer for a little bit?"

"Just until dinner's ready," she called back.

Percy went to the computer and turned it on, opening a browser and looking up the song. It took him a full minute to type it all out, since he didn't know the keyboard by memory.

Then the bird calls started. Both Bianca and Nico gasped. "Oh my gosh!" Bianca said. She looked at Nico. "Are we really...?"

Nico laughed. "We pinky promised!" He pulled Bianca up and Percy started off the way he always did.

" _Doctor doctor please come here quick! My big brother is awfully sick. He's got a froggy down in his throat. It's true, I heard it! He can't sing a single note!_ "

The trio got in a line and danced in sync to the chorus. They shared a look before the next verse. It was a little sour, but this was their childhood. Bianca moved forward and outdid herself, so the comedy of it could outdo the melancholy it sprouted. She didn't care that she was ten. She was with her brother and best friend. She wanted to have fun.

Nico and Percy were laughing so hard at her, they stumbled in the next chorus. Then it was Nico's turn.

Percy and Bianca laughed at his part like they always used to. Now, it was funnier because it'd been so long since they saw it.

They sat on the floor and laughed until they were crying. "That was fun," Bianca said.

"Come on you three, time to eat," Mom said. She was laughing too. She ruffled Nico's hair as he passed, and she squeezed Bianca's shoulder. "After this we can play Chutes and Ladders."

They sat down and ate the plate of greens, grilled chicken, and macaroni. After that, they played three rounds of chutes and ladders before Bianca went to do her nails with Mom.

Nico and Percy went to the room and turned on the TV. Nico got under the covers and watched Cartoon Network's Kids Next Door, and Dexter's Laboratory. After three episodes, Nico had fallen asleep, but Percy fought to stay awake. He wanted to know how long he could stay up. He could never make it past eleven, but he really wanted to. So he kept watching T.V. even after it stopped being Cartoon Network. It was still a cartoon, so he still watched.

The cartoon was funny. The people had small faces and big eyes, and mouths that only opened and closed. When they moved it was almost robotic, and they had funny voices. Percy watched as two people kissed. He wanted to laugh at how silly it looked. Until more started happening. He got a little scared because he knew this was the bad stuff Mommy would cover his eyes for. But Mommy was asleep, and he was curious. He knew that whatever was happening was bad and not for him at all, but it was almost exciting to break a rule. The people started making noises so Percy turned the volume down. Once the scene passed, it moved to another scene where two people were talking. Percy didn't know if they were boys or girls or one of each, so he turned the volume up. One was talking in a deep voice and the other one laughed with a deep voice too. Percy tried to figure out why the guy was laughing but before he knew it, they were kissing too. Percy stared and when he saw that what happened before was going to happen here too, he turned it off. He got under his covers and shook his head.

The next day, when Nico and Bianca went home and before Gabe came over again, Percy sat with his mom. "Mommy?" he asked.

"Yes, baby?"

"Can two boys kiss?"

Sally turned to look at him. "Where did that come from?"

Percy shrugged and tried to twist the story. "It's just yesterday, we were watching Cartoon Network. Nico fell asleep, but I stayed up and I thought a new cartoon was on. But then it had two boys kissing and I turned it off, because that's wrong right?"

Sally furrowed her brows. "No sweetie, it's not wrong. I'm not sure if the show is appropriate, depending how late that was, but any two people can fall in love. Boy and boy or girl and girl or boy and girl. Not everyone thinks it's right, but those are people who are just scared of things that don't happen a lot. Yes, two boys can kiss if they really love each other."

"Well, I love Nico, but I don't want to kiss him."

Sally laughed. "There's different kinds of love, sweetie. There's loving your friends, or your siblings, or your mommy and daddy. There's a lot of others too, like pet love. Loving someone doesn't mean you have to kiss them like that."

Percy nodded. "Oh, okay, I get it. But if I grow up and I do love Nico or Leo or someone who's a boy like a gir- no, I mean boyfriend, then that's okay?"

Sally smiled. "Yes, honey, that's okay." Then after a moment, "But no more cartoon network after ten, okay? Or else I'll have to let you only watch PBS Kids too."

"Okay, Mommy," Percy said.

The doorbell rang, and Percy watched as Mom opened it for Gabe. "Hey, champ," he said kindly. "How've you been?"

"I've been good," he answered. "My friends came over yesterday."

"Really?" he said. Percy nodded. "Well, how about going to the zoo today?"

"Can my friends come too?" Percy asked.

He hummed. "Why don't we make this a family thing?" Percy was going to point out that Gabe wasn't part of his family, but he looked at his mom who was smiling, and nodded.

Percy liked the aquarium in the zoo best. He liked the blue look it gave the whole room. He liked seeing all the different fish. He noticed Gabe and Mommy holding hands, but he didn't say anything. Gabe bought him Dippin' Dots ice cream and a snocone. He asked him about school and all the stuff he liked. He asked him about the fish, and Percy impressed him with extensive knowledge on the sea creatures they saw.

When they got home, Percy was full on junk food, and tired of walking. He sat on the couch and tossed his head over the side, feeling the blood rush to his face.

Gabe chuckled. "What are you doing, bud?"

"Being Percy," he answered. "That's what Bianca and Nico say when I do something weird."

"Bianca, huh? The little girl next door?" Percy nodded. "Is that a future girlfriend?" he teased.

Percy fell off the couch. "Ew, no!" he said. "I only joke about that with Nico to make him mad. She's like my sister."

Gabe hummed. "We'll see," he said.

"Seriously," Percy said. "I'm never having a girlfriend or a boyfriend, or anything."

Gabe raised an eyebrow. "Boyfriend?"

Percy shrugged. "Boys can like boys too right?"

Gabe smiled. "You know quite a bit about society, don't you?" Percy shrugged. "Well, I have a question for you." Percy nodded and sat next to him. He smelled like the red deodorant Percy liked to smell when they went to the store. And soap. "You know, I think your mom is a very pretty woman."

"I think that too. She always smells like cookies."

Gabe chuckled. "Well, I really like her. But I know you're the man in her life. So I want to ask you permission to be with her."

"What?" Percy asked.

"Percy, I want to marry your mom. But I want to know you'll be okay with that." Percy stared at him. His stomach clenched, and he wanted to throw up. What if Daddy came back? "Percy," he said gently. "I know your dad hurt you both when he went away. I understand if you're scared. But I won't do that."

Percy looked back at him. He was skinny with nice brown eyes and a short beard. His hands were warm as they held Percy's. "My daddy went away, even though he said he loved me," Percy whispered. "What if you do that too?"

Gabe shook his head. "No, Percy. I won't. I really do love your mommy, and I love you too. You're such a good little boy. And I would love to be part of your life. I promise I won't ever leave you two."

Percy started crying and wrapped his arms around Gabe. He was going to have a stepdad. It felt weird to say. Gabe hugged him back tightly. Percy hoped he was serious. He didn't want to be left by another dad. "Is that a yes?" Gabe asked. Percy nodded, and Gabe hugged him even tighter. "Sally! Sally!" he called. She walked out to see them hugging, and broke into a smile.

"Are we doing this?" she asked.

Gabe nodded, and he picked Percy up. "We're going to be a family, baby," he said smiling.

Mommy squealed and hugged them both, kissing Gabe and holding Percy's hand. Percy smiled, feeling excited. He couldn't wait to tell Nico and Bianca and Leo.


	6. Somewhere Over the Rainbow

_March 12, 2007 (9 years old; Nico) Spring Break_

It was spring break of fourth grade. Papa was working, and Nico had been limited to the parent control channels Papa had left. He was dying of boredom and decided to watch it upside down. Bianca was busy being girly in her room, probably on the phone with Zoe and Diana. Nico was bored of his games and he was still trying to get over his latest book,  _Firegirl._

Percy was knocking on Nico's front door again, interrupting the documentary on yarn making. He got up from his couch and moved to the door, smiling as he was about to say how dreadful it was that Percy interrupted a vital part of his education. When he opened the door, though, he saw Percy's eyes rimmed red and full of tears. His stomach clenched.

"Percy, what's wrong?"

"Is your dad home?" he asked with a shaky voice, messing with his hands. He always did that when he was nervous.

"N-no, he went to work. Why? Percy what is it?"

Percy suddenly gasped and hugged Nico, grasping the smaller boy's shirt. Nico was taken aback and didn't know what to do or say, so he hugged him back. Percy was warm, but he was shaking. Before Nico could say another word, he heard Bianca behind them. "Whoa, what's going on?" The eleven year old stood with a confused expression. Nico pulled away, feeling as though he'd been caught doing something bad. "Percy, are you okay?" Nico took a breath and looked at his friend. "Geez, Nico, let him in. Come on, Percy get in."

Nico stumbled pulling Percy in, and they sat on the couch. Bianca brought a glass of water and Percy took it with shaky hands. Nico helped him steady it, getting a strange glance from Bianca. "Percy, what's the matter?"

Percy took deep breaths and blinked rapidly. "My mom. A-and Gabe. I didn't know what to do, and you guys were the only ones I could think of and I just-"

"What happened to them Percy?" Bianca asked.

"It's what he did to her," Percy said angrily. "He hurt her. And I didn't know what to do, I just came here. He...." Percy looked up at both, of his friends. "He hit her." Bianca's hand flew to her mouth and Nico froze, feeling angry. Sally was important to him too, and she didn't deserve to be mistreated. "They were a-arguing and suddenly he just hit her. I can still hear it, it makes me feel sick. I saw him as a dad, you know, I mean he said he'd never hurt us, and he did that and I.... He shouldn't hurt her, but I don’t want him to leave us too. I just don't know what to think; I'm scared to go home. Mom told me to go to my room, but I came here. What do I- what do I do?"

Bianca started messing with the small hair on her neck, and Nico leaned back on the couch. "You have to report this," Bianca said with a firm voice. "This is- it's  _illegal_. This is domestic abuse, my teacher told us about it in school."

"Yeah, and who do you think will listen to a nine year old?" Nico asked. "Percy, you have to convince Sally to go and tell the police. Or we should tell Papa. I mean, yes it's only happened this once, but it's not an excuse. Have they been fighting a lot?"

"No! Please don't tell anyone else." Percy bit his lip. "They've been yelling, yeah. I didn't think it'd get this bad. I mean I don't get it. At first, he made us really happy and we were always having fun. It was like we were a real family. Then he just started getting mean and ignoring me and drinking a lot and being gross to my mom. And he'd yell at her, but she wouldn't say anything. This time, she did. And I just-" They heard Papa's car come into the driveway. "I don't want to go home guys," Percy said, suddenly clutching Nico's arm.

"Stay here," Nico said. "Just stay here, spend the night, and if she comes looking for you then you can talk to her, maybe. If she doesn't.... then you can get back to her in the morning."

"What if he hurts her even more, Nico?" Percy looked at Nico with so much fear and pain, that it felt like his heart was being ripped out. His green eyes were more vibrant among the redness.

Nico sighed and shook his head. "I can ask Papa to go and check-"

"No!" Percy shouted. "No," he said in a calmer voice. "She might get mad at me for telling."

Nico grabbed his arm to calm him down. "Okay, okay," Nico said. "Calm down, Perce. Look, go clean yourself up and then later on, we can go on like a mission to check on your mom. If anything happened, we'll have to tell Papa, if not, we come back and go to sleep. Yeah?" Percy nodded. "Yeah. Okay, now go clean your face before Papa comes in." As if on cue, the door opened, and Percy raced off to the bathroom.

"Hey, kids," he said. "Is Percy in here too?"

"Yeah, he just came over," Bianca said.

"Can he spend the night? It's spring break after all."

"Sure," he said. "I hope he likes shrimp alfredo!" Papa walked into the kitchen and Nico walked to his room to clear off a space on the floor for himself and Percy.

He heard a knock, and Bianca walked in. "Hey," she said. "Can I come in?" Nico nodded and put away a few books. "Uh, Nico?" Nico stopped and looked at her. “I’m kind of scared. I don’t want anything to happen to Sally.”

Nico bit his lip and let himself feel the fear he’d been suppressing for Percy’s sake. “Me too,” he whispered. “But he doesn’t want us to tell.”

“But-”

Percy came into the room and looked at Nico and Bianca. “What? What happened? Did something happen?”

"No, I was just helping him put things away. Shrimp alfredo for dinner," Bianca said before walking out.

Nico looked away, trying to stop feeling scared. "Are we going to sleep on the floor or on your bed?" Percy asked.

Nico shrugged. "It doesn't matter. Want to play?" Percy nodded and Nico turned on his GameCube. Nico sat down on the floor and so did Percy. He wondered vaguely what he would’ve done if his papa had ever hit his mama. He couldn’t picture it at all. Papa loved her too much. Would he have run to Percy? Would Bianca have called the police? What if something happened to Sally?

"Nico?" Nico opened his eyes. "Are you okay?"

Nico took another breath. "Yeah, Perce, I'm good. Sorry. Now come on, I'm ready to beat you at this game."

They weren’t able to play for long. Percy kept getting distracted. Then he said he didn’t want to play and sat with his head in his hands. Nico hated seeing his best friend like this, especially when he didn’t know how he could help. He sat next to him, offering his hand. Percy rejected it in favor of a hug.

Hugs were kind of weird for Nico. He always liked getting hugged, but he was always worried he wasn’t a good hugger. Still, Percy clung to him tightly, so Nico figured he was okay. He hugged him back tightly and then tighter when Percy started crying.

“Don’t cry, Perce,” Nico whispered. “She’s gonna be okay.”

Percy shook his head and sniffed against Nico’s shirt. He could feel it getting wet, but he didn’t care. “It’s not just that,” he mumbled. “Gabe told me he’d never hurt us. He _promised_ me. And he lied. You don’t hit people you love, right? So does that mean he doesn’t love us anymore?”

Nico frowned and pulled away, looking at Percy. “Percy did he hit you too?” Percy shut his mouth and whimpered as he looked away, like he did something wrong. “Percy.”

“It was just once, it was my fault,” he said, panicked, his voice breaking. “He told me to be quiet and I didn’t listen-”

“Does Sally know?”

He shook his head. “She was at the store.” He looked at Nico with large tears running down his face. “Please don’t tell her. Everything’s already so bad.”

Nico felt angry. He didn’t like the idea of someone hurting Percy or Sally, and it hurt him so much to see Percy this upset. Instead of answering, he just hugged him again and tried not to start crying. He had to be stronger right now.

A little while later, Papa called for them to come eat. They all sat around the table, indulging in the rich taste of Papa's food. When they finished, it was Nico's turn to help clean, so Percy sat in the living room and Bianca sat with him because neither of them wanted Percy to be alone.

His papa noticed something off about Nico. "Nico, son, what's going on?" Papa asked. "You seem deep in thought. Did you read a complicated book?"

"No Papa," Nico answered. "I'm just thinking about stuff." Nico turned to wash the dishes.

"What stuff?" Papa asked as he put away the leftovers. "Maybe I could give some input."

Nico sighed. He didn’t want to lie to his father, but he also wanted to know how to help. “Is it okay for people to hit kids?” he whispered.

"What?” Nico stared at his father and waited with bated breath, hoping Percy didn’t hear. “Why are you asking that?”

Nico shrugged. “Some kids at school say their parents hit them. But… I don’t really know what that means. You don’t hit us.”

His papa sighed and walked over to him, placing Nico on the counter. “Parenting is different. Some people do a bit of physical discipline, like a quick spanking. But if it’s a lot and for no reason, it’s called abuse. I personally don’t like the idea of hitting you kids for discipline. I don’t do it.”

“What’s it like when it’s abuse?” Nico asked anxiously. His father looked like he was going to ask something else, so Nico shook his head. “Never mind, Papa. I want to stop thinking about it.”

His father nodded and squeezed his shoulder. “Don’t worry yourself about those things. You’re too young to deal with that. Go on and play, I can finish the dishes.”

If he was too young, then so was Percy. But Percy was living it. Nico wished he could do something to help.

Nico nodded and finally left the kitchen. He nudged Percy's shoulder, and Percy turned off the TV to follow Nico towards more video games. Halfway there, the doorbell rang. Percy looked at Nico with wide eyes. "I got it, Papa," he called. "Come on, Percy." Nico looked through the window, and then opened the door to Sally. "Hi, Sally," he greeted casually.

"Hi, dear," she greeted. Nico notice the small red mark on her cheek, but he didn't say anything. He ignored the fire in his arms that caused his hands to shake slightly. "Can I talk to Percy?"

"Oh, sure, he's right over here." Nico motioned for her to come in.

"No, honey, I kind of need him out here, it'll only be a minute." Nico nodded and went to get Percy.

"Your mom wants to talk. I don't think she'll make you go home." Percy just stared. "What is it? Are you scared of her?"

Percy shook his head. "I'm scared she'll get mad at me for leaving her. For being a... what's that word you use? Like the dog and the lion."

"Coward?" Nico suggested. Percy nodded. "Percy, you're nine. What are you supposed to do? You're afraid, but that doesn't make you a coward. She won't get mad at you. Sally is very sweet, she'd never even raise her voice at you." Percy didn't move. "It's going to be okay. I pinky promise." He held out his pinky finger and Percy looped his through Nico's.

Percy took a breath and walked out. Nico didn't want to eavesdrop, so he went to the living room. Bianca stood with him nervously and they played a game of thumb war while they waited. When Percy came back, Nico asked, “Are you okay?”

"I think so," Percy said. "She said I could stay. She said she was okay. She wasn't mad." Nico nodded. "She had a mark on her cheek. I don't know if I want him to stay or go away." Nico's eyebrows came together sympathetically. Percy's eyes were beginning to water. "Can we just... go watch a movie?"

Bianca and Nico nodded, taking Percy back to Nico’s room where they put on a movie and all sat on the bed to watch it. Percy was leaning tiredly against Nico and Nico was picking at his nails and Bianca was doodling in a small little journal she had.

“Whatcha drawing?” Percy asked.

She shut her notebook and shook her head. “Nothing.”

“Ooh, what was it?” Nico asked, eyeing the journal.

“Just hearts….” She blushed and tossed her journal aside. “Whatever, just watch the movie.”

“Ooh, Bianca has a crush!” Percy said.

“Ew, gross,” Nico said, wrinkling his nose. “Crushes are gross. People are gross.”

Bianca laughed and shook her head. “Not my crush. He has pretty eyes and when he smiles at me, my tummy feels all funny, and at recess, he gave me a flower and my heart gets all fluttery when I think about it.” Bianca’s face was bright red, but she seemed so happy, Nico couldn’t bring himself to tease. “We have to stand in line together, and I’m always nervous because he’s so close. I get a bunch of butterflies every time we get dropped off at school because I know I’m gonna see him.”

“Bianca’s in _lo-ove,_ ” Percy teased. She threw a pillow at him and hid her face.

“Shut up, no I’m not,” she whined, but she was laughing and Nico couldn’t help but laugh too.

When the movie was over, Bianca said goodnight and went to her room. Nico and Percy settled into bed.

"Actually, can I take the window side? I kind of want to look at the sky. Try to focus on something else." Nico moved and let Percy get in the bed and scoot over. Percy stared at the sky and Nico found his mind drifting.

He wondered what Bianca’s crush looked like. What made his eyes pretty? Did they look like Percy’s? Nico had always felt a little jealous of Percy’s green eyes. He wondered if the boy liked Bianca back. He’d given her a flower after all. He wondered if he should feel worried about that. He didn’t want some boy taking his sister away from him.

He felt Percy’s hand slip into his own, and he opened his eyes to see what happened. But Percy’s eyes were shut. Nico shrugged it off and fell asleep. He had a weird dream.

In his dream, he was Bianca, but also not. And he was seeing her crush, but also it wasn’t because it was Percy. But he looked older too. Nico felt nervous as Bianca, but he also knew he wasn’t Bianca and it got very confusing. Then Older Percy gave him a flower and kissed his cheek and Nico felt like his chest was going to explode because he was so happy and so nervous. Just like Bianca said. His tummy felt funny when Older Percy took his hand and his eyes looked even brighter. Then suddenly, Bianca was the one holding Older Percy’s hand and Nico felt… angry. And sad. Heartbroken, he figured.

He woke up feeling confused and weird and… jittery. His hands were shaking slightly, especially when he realized Percy was still asleep next to him. Only now he was his normal age. He felt embarrassed about the dream because it seemed like Nico was crushing on Percy, but he wasn’t. It was a weird Bianca induced dream, and… that made his stomach tighten. The reminder of what it was like to see Bianca and Percy together. He didn’t like it.

“Nico?” Nico nearly yelped. He looked over to see that Percy wasn’t asleep. “Why’d you wake up?”

Nico froze, staring at his eyes. Not fair, not fair. It was just because colored eyes were so interesting. Could they _feel_ a color? Wait, Percy had asked him something.

“I had a weird dream.”

“What was it?”

Nico found it kind of hard to breathe with Percy so close, and with the memory of his dream. “Nothing. Why are you awake?”

“I can’t sleep. I feel… scared.”

"Don't be scared, Percy. Remember when we were little and you would say you were scared when you came over? I said I'd be a Ninja Turtle and protect us. Well, I'm still the Ninja Turtle now. I'm your best friend, okay? You don't have to be scared." Percy squeezed his hand and smiled, which just made Nico feel guilty and jittery.

Percy looked back up at the stars, and Nico looked at the shadows of their profiles on the walls. He felt like he'd done something wrong. Like he was keeping a secret. Should he tell Percy the dream? No. There was no reason to.

Both boys were preoccupied with their thoughts, and both tried to ignore it.

"Nico?" Percy whispered. Nico hummed. "Could you sing for me?"

"What?" Nico asked.

Percy looked back over at him. "It's just... when I was sick or I got hurt.... Never mind...."

Nico looked away. His eyes fell on the ukulele Mamma had gotten him. Of course. Any time any of them were sick or hurt, Mamma would sing. That's what Percy wanted. Just a little extra comfort. Nico hadn't really sung in front of anyone since Mamma died, but he couldn't imagine a better reason to. Maybe this was Mamma speaking through him, telling him to bring back pieces of the little boy from before.

Nico looked back at Percy. He started humming softly. Percy closed his eyes. As Nico sang his favorite song about the rainbow, Percy started looking at the sky again, holding Nico's hand tightly. When Nico finished singing, Percy turned to him. "Thank you," he whispered. "I shouldn't be, but I'm still scared. You'd never hurt me or my mommy, right? And neither would your dad or Bianca?"

Nico shook his head. "Of course not."

"Good," Percy said. "Please never stop being my friend." Nico squeezed his hand. He started humming again, until he'd lulled both Percy and himself to sleep.


End file.
